Southern Border, Snake King Valley.

Yuan Ming had spent nearly half a month traveling and had finally arrived once again at this dense forest thriving with miasma.

Despite the years that had passed, the place seemed to have changed little on the surface.

However, compared to his first two visits, Yuan Ming felt much more relaxed now. With his current cultivation, he could easily enter and exit these woods without needing the Obstacle Avoidance Pearl, relying solely on his strong physical body.

After they had killed the Snake King in the valley years ago, word had gradually spread. More and more cultivators entered the valley seeking fortune, turning a place almost forbidden into one that had become increasingly lively over the years.

Yuan Ming hadn't been in the valley long when he encountered a group of cultivators looking for treasure.

There were seven or eight of them, all Loose Cultivators, led by a man at the Early-stage Core Formation with a thick beard and a face full of cross flesh, which gave him a somewhat fierce appearance.

Seeing Yuan Ming alone resting under an old tree, they approached him to greet him.

"Fellow Daoist, are you here alone?" the bearded man inquired as he stepped forward.

His tone carried a hint of provocation.

Yuan Ming, not really considering them a threat but also not wanting to cause trouble, frowned and asked:

"Is there a problem?"

His question immediately made someone in the group discontent.

"Hey, kid, how do you speak to our master uncle?" a skinny man complained.

"No other meaning, just saw you were alone and thought to ask if you wanted to join us." the bearded man glanced at him, then turned and asked Yuan Ming again.

"No need," Yuan Ming responded without a second thought, directly refusing.

"Well, if that's the case, we won't disturb you further," said the bearded man, not persisting any further. This соntеnt wаs first rеlеаsеd оn

Yet, just as he walked a few steps away, he suddenly turned back and loudly cautioned, "Fellow Daoist, just a heads-up, the Snake King Valley has not been peaceful recently. The demon beasts that usually dwell deep in the valley have sometimes been encountered outside; take extra care."

As soon as the bearded man finished speaking, the skinny man muttered under his breath, "Master Uncle, why bother telling him that? He's impolite. Just let him find his own trouble."

Yuan Ming overheard the conversation and his opinion of the fierce-looking bearded man improved slightly.

"May I ask why the demon beasts that live in the depths of the valley are now venturing out?" Yuan Ming asked, intrigued by his words.

"It's said that there's an exceedingly ferocious demon beast deep within the Snake King Valley, and many of the beasts that lived there have fled because they fear this creature," the bearded man stopped and explained.

Exceedingly ferocious?

Yuan Ming, unfazed, casually asked, "What kind of demon beast is it?"

"It seems ... to be a White Ape, some people have apparently seen it," the bearded man pondered before responding.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming felt a strange sensation in his heart. Could it be that creature?

Suppressing his excitement, he minutely sensed the surroundings and indeed detected that the psychic connection with Vajra was within this Snake King Valley. He immediately got up and hurried to catch up with the bearded man and his group.

"Fellow Daoist, it's my first time in Snake King Valley, and I'm unfamiliar with these lands, so I was overly cautious earlier. My apologies," Yuan Ming said as he clasped his fists in greeting.

"It's no bother. It's good to be careful when you're away from home," the bearded man clasped his fists in return.

"You're open-minded, and it makes me feel ashamed. May I know if I can still join your group?" Yuan Ming praised and then asked.

"Why not? The more people, the better the care we can take of each other," the bearded man replied with an easy smile.

"Thank you very much," Yuan Ming replied with a smile, clasping his fists.

Together, the group headed deeper into Snake King Valley.

Along the way, they encountered several demon beasts which weren't very strong and were quickly slain by the group's combined efforts.

However, Yuan Ming found it odd that every time they split up the demon bones and flesh, they would take out a black stone and wave it over the body of the demon beasts.

"Fellow Daoist Ha Chi, what are you doing?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled.

Through casual conversation along the way, he had learned the bearded man's name was Ha Chi.

"This is a mission from the Shichuan Alliance, to search all the demon beasts in Snake King Valley that have been tainted with Demonic Qi," Ha Chi explained.

"What do they want with the demon beasts tainted with Demonic Qi?" Yuan Ming continued to inquire.

"To find that Demon Ape. It's said that any demon beast that has come into contact with the Demon Ape will be tainted with its Demonic Qi. The more of these beasts we find, the closer we are to finding the Demon Ape," Ha Chi responded.

"They want to kill that Demon Ape?" Yuan Ming furrowed his brow and asked.

"What else? Killing that Ape would yield countless treasures. How do you know so little? What exactly are you doing in Snake King Valley?" the skinny man impatiently said.

His words reminded Ha Chi that, throughout their journey, this man named Yuan who asked all sorts of questions hadn't specified his purpose.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, so you didn't accept a mission from the Shichuan Alliance?" Ha Chi asked, his eyebrows knitted.

Previously, he had subconsciously assumed Yuan Ming had taken up the task as well and had invited him to join their group.

"I'm not, I came here to collect Lost Grass, but I need those that are at least a hundred years old, which are hard to find," Yuan Ming made up an excuse to get by.

While they were talking, suddenly, a sharp arrow signal sounded.

They hastily looked towards the direction of the sound, only to see a fiery red arrow light shooting up into the sky from deep within Snake King Valley, lingering for a long time.

"Found them, they've found the Demon Ape," Ha Chi exclaimed excitedly.

"Uncle Master, let's hurry and follow, we might still get a share of the loot," the thin man urged anxiously.

The rest showed expressions of excitement as well.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, just by participating in this mission there are rewards to be claimed, bystanders included. Although you didn't take up the mission, we consider you one of us and you can claim an extra reward, do you want to come along?" Ha Chi looked at Yuan Ming and asked.

"Go, with such a good opportunity, how could I not go," Yuan Ming said immediately.

The group hurriedly followed the guidance of the soaring red light, rushing towards it quickly.

Yuan Ming had already recognized that the place indicated by the red light was the ruined castle deep within Snake King Valley.

Before they even reached there, they could hear intense fighting sounds and wails from afar, with powerful bursts of energy fluctuating continuously from that direction.

Ha Chi's pace involuntarily slowed down.

"What's wrong?" Yuan Ming, seeing the others stop, couldn't help but turn back and ask.

"This noise... something is not right," Ha Chi's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he spoke tremblingly.

The Shichuan Alliance had gathered at least two Nascent Soul stage powerhouses this time, and they were equipped with a formation. Logically, the ones screaming should be the Demon Ape, but now all they could hear were the cries of humans.

"No, no, we can't go through," the thin man wiped the sweat off his forehead and shook his head.

"We came here for the rewards, not to die," Ha Chi said, surprisingly calm at that moment.

"Since we're here, I'll take a look," Yuan Ming smiled.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him as if he were a fool.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, this isn't the time to be greedy. If you really can't bear it, let's wait a bit longer, wait for the noise inside to die down before checking it out," Ha Chi quickly tried to dissuade him.

"It's fine, you guys wait here," Yuan Ming said, then dashed out without looking back.

Ha Chi and the others exchanged glances and eventually clenched their teeth and followed.

However, by this time Yuan Ming was no longer concealing his cultivation, and his speed was extremely fast, beyond what they could keep up with.

In a short while, Yuan Ming arrived outside the ruined castle.

Around the castle was a pervasive smell of blood, and limbs were scattered everywhere on the ground; around a dozen bodies lay in disarray, none fully intact.

Inside the castle, an elder in a black robe, bathed in blood, was pressing down with both hands, controlling a huge, ten-zhang long black inkstone, firmly suppressing a giant white ape beneath it.

The giant ape was covered in snow-white fur, and except for its fists which were stained with blood, there was not a single spot of blood on its body.

Its eyes glowed fiercely, and its irregular Beast Teeth tightly interlocked. A faint Demonic Qi radiated from its body, showing not even a hint of panic or fear.

In contrast, the elder in the black robe using the black inkstone to suppress it had an expression of both fear and panic. The inkstone he was pressing down seemed like his lifesaver; any looseness, and he would lose his life.

Sensing someone approaching, the black-robed elder immediately looked in Yuan Ming's direction, his eyes flashing with a desperate hope.

"Fellow Daoist, are you also here to hunt the Demon Ape? I have it suppressed. Quickly move forward and strike its rear head, and we will surely succeed," the black-robed elder urgently shouted.

Yuan Ming, however, showed no reaction.

His gaze landed on the white giant ape, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Its aura is much thicker, its physical body much tougher, it has indeed grown a lot."

"What are you waiting for, hurry up, I can't hold it down much longer," the black-robed elder shouted anxiously.

He didn't actually want Yuan Ming to kill the Demon Ape, as a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator who had previously come with him had already proven the robustness of the Demon Ape's physique, which was not easily harmed by ordinary means.

What he wanted was to use Yuan Ming's life, to help him carve a path to escape.

At this moment, the White Ape also noticed Yuan Ming, and a burst of joyous light exploded in its bright eyes.

"Roar..."

It let out a roar from its mouth, suddenly throwing the giant inkstone it was holding up high, heavily smashing it against the crumbling wall of the castle, causing it to shake violently and stones to collapse.

The Nascent Soul elder was shaken until he spat out blood, and his eyes also turned a bloody red.

"Evil beast, you forced my hand," he shouted angrily, swiftly taking out a black vial and pouring the viscous liquid inside into his mouth.

The next instant, the elder's body lit up with a dark glow, and strands of black smoke emerged from his orifices. His entire aura suddenly surged, reaching mid-stage Nascent Soul.

At the same time, black patterns appeared on his face and an indescribable malice burst forth from his body.

"Heh, what a rare encounter, to meet a cultivator here who practices the Cultivation Technique of my Demon Clan," suddenly the voice of Qi Ye resonated within Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness.